Ironing machine



May 16, 1933. P. PERRY IRONING MACHINE Filed May 3, 1932 INVENTOR Paul Perry BY ATTORNEY Patented May 16, 193E;

STATES PATENT OFFICE PAUL PERRY, F CLEVELAND, OHIO IRONING MACHINE Application filed May 3, 1932. Serial No. 608,943.

The device of the present invention is an of as will be apparent to one skilled in the art ironing machine designed particularly for to which the invention appertains. use in the manufacture of garments such as Reference should be had to the accompanydress-es and blouses, and has for its object to ing drawing forming a part of this specifica- 55 eliminate basting by hand of the several tion, in which:

parts of a garment before they are pressed Figure 1 is a front elevation of the mapreparatory to sewing them together. chine;

In the manufacture of womens and chil- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine; drens garments such as waists, dresses, Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line indiblouses, skirts and the like, individual pieces cated at 33 in Fig. 1; 60 of fabric are cut and sewed together and Fig. L is an end elevation viewed as indilater are assembled with and sewed to other cated by the line 44 in Fig. 1; parts of the garment. The parts of the gar- Referring to the accompanying drawing, ment which are initially assembled are usual the machine of the present invention is proly pressed or ironed to the proper shape bevided with a frame 1 which has a top 2 which 65 fore being sewed to other portions of'the provides a support for the ironing elements garment. Often the individual parts of the and their actuating means. Upon the top garment are provided with folds, pleats and 2 there is mounted a pairof spaced bearmg' the like, and before pressing it has been necesstandards 3 in which the ends of the shaft sary, heretofore, to baste the folds, pleats or of they roll 4 are journaled. Rearwardly of 7 the like, or to pin them down so as to hold the roll 4 and parallel therewith a short disthem to proper form while they are being tance below the level of the axis of the roll, pressed or ironed. there is supported a horizontal shaft 5 upon The device of the present invention has for 'which is pivotally mounted presser shoe 6. its object to provide a device for pressing A presser shoe 6 is secured to the upper end or ironing such portions of a garment to the of an arm 7 of a bell crank lever which is proper form without first basting or pinpivoted on the shaft 5, the lever being proning the fabric. vided with a rearwardly extending arm 8 Another object is to provide an ir0ni11g through which it is actuated to swing the machine of simple and inexpensive construcpresser shoe toward or away from the roll tion suitable for the operation above referred 4. The presser shoe is preferably detachably to. secured to the arm 7 the arm 7 being pro- A further object is to provide an ironing vided with lateral flanges 9 to which the shoe machine provided with means for holding 6 is secur d by ean of bolt 10, Th r the fabric to the form to which it has been r hoe i a hollow member hi h t i folded by the operator prior to the engagcan electrical heating element 11 located closemont of the ironing shoe with the fabric. 1y adjacent the forward wall of the shoe A further object is to provide convenient which is formed to provide a concav fa 12 means for controlling the pressure exerted by of a curvature to conform to the roll a. The

* the presser shoe on the material being ironed presser shoe 6, however, differs from the conin order to prevent improper feed of the maventional ironing or presser shoe in that the terial, which would distort or disarrange the forward edge of the face portion curves upmaterial in the folds during its passage wardly away from the roll on a very short rathrough the machine. dius, as indicated at 13, in order to prevent With the above and other objects inview eams from rolling as th portio f th the invention may be said to comprise the degarment being pressed is brought into envice as illustrated in the accompanying drawgagement with the shoe. The ironin h ing hereinafter descrlbed and partlcularly differs further from the conventional ironset forth in the appended claims, together ing shoe in that the heating element 11 is so with such variations and modifications therearranged within the shoe as to concentrate the heat largely in the forward edge portion of the shoe so that the edge of the shoe which first engages the material being pressed is the hottest portion of the shoe. This may be accomplished by spacing the heating coils closer together within the forward portion of the shoe as shown in Fig. 3. In pressing pleats, folds and the like, in portions of a garment it is highly important that definite creases be immediately formed in the fabric as the pieces are fed into the space between the presser shoe and roll so that the creases and folds will be formed along the desired lines. This is accomplished by the device of the present invention by delivering the ma terial directly into engagement with the hottest portion of the presser shoe.

Means is provided by which the presser shoe 6 can be instantly disengaged from the roll 4 whenever desired so that the pressure exerted by the presser shoe against the material passing between the roll and shoe can be regulated during an ironing operation. The shoe is moved about its pivotal support by means of actuating connections from a rock shaft 14 extending from the front to the rear of the frame beneath the top 2, the shaft 14 being journaled in suitable bearing brackets 15 secured to the under side of the top 2. A laterally projecting arm 16 is fixed to the shaft 14 adjacent its rear end and the outer end of the arm 16 is connected to the outer end to the bell crank arm 8 by means of a link 17. The shaft 14 has a second arm 18 fixed thereto and extending laterally in the same direction as the arm 16 and to the outer endof the arm 18 there is connected a link 19 which extends downwardly to a pedal 20 which when depressed by the foot of the operator turns the rock shaft 14 in a direction to exert a downward pull on the link 17 to rock the ironing shoe outwardly away from the roll. The shaft 14 also has a downwardly extending arm 21 to which is connected a coil spring 22 which extends horizontally from the lower end of the arm 21 to the inner end of an adjustable rod 23 which is anchored at its outer end to a supporting leg of the frame by means of a nut 24 which may be adjusted to regulate the tension of the spring. The shaft 14 has a second downwardly extending arm 25 fixed thereto and, adjustably mounted on the arm 25, there is a knee plate 26 which is carried by a collar 27 slidable on the arm 25 and secured in adjusted position thereon by means of a set screw 28 carried by the collar. A cam 29, provided with circumferentially spaced notches 30, is mounted on the shaft 14 and cooperates with a spring pressed detent 31 for releasably holding the rock shaft 14 at its opposite limits of movement, in one of which the presser shoe is retained in retracted position and in the other of which it is retained in engagement with the roll. The

presser shoe is yieldingly pressed against the roll 4 by means of the spring 22, but in order to maintain a proper feed of the material it may be desirable to partially relieve the pressure at times during an ironing operation. 5

This the operator can do by pressing laterally with his knee against the knee plate 26 or by exerting a pressure with his foot on the pedal 20, thereby exerting a torsional thrust on the rock shaft 14 in opposition to w the thrust of the spring 22, taking a portion of the thrust of the spring with his knee or foot so that the presser shoe will be yieldingly pressed with a lighter thrust against the ironing roll. The operator can thus readily control the amount of pressure exerted on the work while it is passing beneath the presser shoe, and if at any time the work begins to move out of proper position, by H simply increasing the pressure of his foot or knee can instantly disengage the presser shoe.

The ironing roll is driven by an electric motor 32 which is preferablya variable speed motor provided with a suitable control by which the speed may be varied as desired during operation of the machine. The drive from the motor 32 through the ironing roll 4 is through a suitable worm gearing in housing 33 which drives a belt 34 extending to a pulley 35 supported by a bracket 36 depending from the top 2. Mounted coaxially alongside the pulley 35, there is a second pulley 37 which is driven from the pulley 35 through a clutchof conventional design. A belt 38 provides a driving connection from the pulley 37 to a pulley 39 011 an end of the shaft of the roll 4. Pulleys 35 and 37 are engaged and disengaged by a suitable clutch shifterlever 40 pivoted to the bracket 36. The lever 40 is provided with a projecting brake arm 41 which extends over the pulley 35 and engages with a cylindrical portion 42 of the pulley 37. The lever 40 has a laterally ex-- tending arm 43 which is connected by a link 44 to a foot pedal 45 so that the operator may, by means of the foot pedal, instantly disengage the clutch at any time and simultaneously apply the brake to stop the rota- The ironing of portions of garments which have folds, pleats or the like without previously basting or priming the folds or pleats, requires that the article be correctly folded or pleated as it enters between the presser shoe and ironing roll. The operator can make the necessary folds or pleats in the fabric on the feed table 46 but it is difficult for the operator to hold the fabric to the proper form while it passes over the top of the ironing roll and into engagement with the presser shoe. This would also necessitate holding the fabric with the hand while it is passing over the top of the roll which would bring the hands of the operator uncomfortably close to the hot presser shoe, with the danger that the operator might get his fingers caught between the shoe and roll. This difficulty is avoided in the machine of the present invention by providing a small roller 47 extending the full length of the ironing roll and engageable with the top of the ironing roll between the feed table and ironing shoe. The roller 47 is mounted for vertical movements toward and away from the ironing roll and is preferably interconnected with the shoe shifting mechanism in such manner that it is engaged with the ironing roll as the presser shoe is moved away from the ironing roll and is shifted out of engagement with the ironing roll as the presser shoe is moved into engagement with the ironing roll.

As herein illustrated the roller 47 is journaled in the forward end of a pair of arms 48 which are fixed to the horizontal shaft 5 upon which the ironing shoe is pivoted. The shaft 5 is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 49 which is connected by a link 50 to an arm 51 fixed to the shaft 14 and extending to the side of the shaft 14 opposite that upon which the shoe actuating arm 16 lies, so that the movement of the roller actuating link 51 is always in a direction opposite that of the shoe actuating link 17 With the ironing shoe disengaged from the roll and the roller 47 engaging the top of the ironing roll, the op-' erator may fold the piece to be ironed to the proper form on the feed table 46 and feed the piece forwardly onto the ironing roll 4 and beneath the roller 47. The roller 47 serves to hold the piece to be ironed against the top of the roll to retain the folds which have been made therein by the operator. When the forward edge of the piece has been advanced to a position where it will be engaged by the forward edge of the ironing shoe, the ironing shoe is shifted into engagement with the roll, the roller 47 is lifted out of engagement with the work.

It will be apparent that the device of the present invention provides a simple and inexpensive ironing machine which can be effectively used for pressing or ironing folds, pleats or the like in parts of garments during the process of manufacture without the necessity of hand basting or pinning the fabric prior to the pressing operation and in which means is provided to hold the pieces to be pressed flat against the roll while being delivered to the heat and pressure applying element, thereby very greatly lessening the danger of the operator injuring his hands in feeding the pieces beneath the heated presser shoe.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular form of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth, are presented for purposes pf explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my invention asdefined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. I11 an ironing machine, a roll, a presser shoe engageable with the roll and mounted for movement toward and away from the roll, a roller in advance of the forward edge' of the shoe mounted for movement into and out of engagement with the roll, and means for .shifting the shoe out of roll engaglng position and for simultaneously shifting the roller into roll engaging position.

2. In an ironing machine, a roll, a feed table at the front of the roll closely overlying the upper portion of the roll, a presser shoe overlying the upper portion of the roll rearwardly of the table, a roller above the roll between the table and shoe, and means for simultaneously moving the roller and shoe in opposite directions with respect to the roll.

3. In an ironing machine, a roll, a presser shoe engageable with the roll, a roller in ad Vance of the forward edge of the shoe extending the full length of the shoe and parallel with the roll, said roller being mounted for movement into and out of roll engaging position, and a common actuating means for the shoe and roller for simultaneously shifting one to roll engaging position and the other out of roll engaging position.

5. In an ironing machine, a roll, a presser shoe pivotally supported at the rear of the" roll and movable into and out of engagement with the roll, a pair of arms pivoted rearwardly of the roll and extending past the ends of the shoe, a roller carried by said arms forwardly of the shoe, and means for si multaneously swinging the shoe and arms in opposite directions to move the shoe into and the roller out of roll engaging position or the shoe out of engaging position and the roller into engaging position.

6. In an ironing machine, a roll, a presser shoe pivotally supported at the rear of the roll and movable into and out of engagement with the roll, a pair of arms pivoted rearwardly of the roll and extending past the ends of the shoe, a roller carried by said arms forwardly of the shoe, means for simultaneously swinging the shoe and arms in opposite directions to move the shoe into and the roller out of roll engaging position or the shoe out of engaging position and the roller into engaging position, and a feed table having its inner edge closely adjacent the roll forwardly of the roller.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

PAUL PERRY. 

